Salento parkrun is arguably the most remote of Italian parkruns, the only one on the mainland South of Rome, and 570+km from there. It’s in the “Parco Naturale Regionale Bosco e Paludi di Rauccio” which means you’ll see greenery at this time of year, olive groves and plenty of open space. I came from Sicily, spending a week travelling down Sicily’s coast, across to Reggio Calabria on the traghetto (under €5), and all the way round the coast via Bova Marina, Corigliano and Taranto. I recommend the archaeological museums in Reggio and Taranto - vast collections for €8. I travelled on a Sunday, when there are very few trains heading South, hence visiting the museum to pass the time.
There’s no public transport to the event, so you have to sort out your own. For some, that means asking the event team, who either come from several of the local towns or know someone who does. I rented a trekking bike from Velo Service in Lecce, who were very helpful, friendly and English-speaking. I booked ahead but probably didn’t need to at this time of year.
It’s 14km or so to the run. I took a detour, trying out the quiet road pictured above, then retracing my steps when that road turned to a dirt track with wall to wall puddles. Probably fine, but too early in the morning for thinking and worrying about the road conditions beyond. Despite the extra kms, I was there before 8:30, waving at a couple of campers in the car park beside the event start, but otherwise on my own for 10 minutes or so. Despite feeling like the middle of nowhere, just a car park near a field, there are toilets near the start.
The event director speaks perfect English, as did some of the locals. An English couple who have lived nearby for 3 years joined for their first event, while an English and Scottish couple have made this their local. The first person I met was the event director’s mum, who explained in great English that she wasn’t the person to speak to, and Saverio would be along soon. I knew I was in good hands early on, other runners made me welcome - one Italian there for the first time spoke English, while another regular lived in London for some time - and Saverio explained the course.
It’s a straightforward route, like a squashed number 6. The out and back section looks shorter on the map than it felt both times I did it. It’s almost completely flat, though with changing terrain underfoot and a couple of sections running in the ruts between (for now) thick grass that need a bit of attention.
Outside of the actual walking and running, there’s a lot of welcoming and chatting before the shouts of “photo, photo, photo” make sure there is plenty to go up on the event’s Facebook/Instagram accounts. The locals take cake and refreshments for afterwards, which we drifted slowly towards as people finished, eating and chatting in a covered area just down the track from the car park, off the route.
And there was plenty of noise. If you look carefully at the last picture above, you might see the man in black has a whistle. This is in the finishing straight, so as you can imagine, if he has energy to blow it there…
It’s a lovely event, welcoming to newcomers and encouraging to everyone. It was humid and warm on this clear Spring day, so I imagine it’s a bit exposed and hot in the height of summer, but there is that shaded area to cool down in a little.
After the run, the cake and some swift swigging of offered water and pop to recover from the humidity, I took my bike on a tour of part of the Adriatic coast. I headed a little way North and East to Torre Rinalda (walking distance to the parkrun, but no cheap accommodation for someone on their own), then South down the coast road, stopping briefly in Torre Chianca and San Cataldo then for a little longer in the nature reserve Strada Del Pesce. It’s a lovely oasis, and stopping to hear no more than birds tweeting was very pleasant. There’s a road through the middle but no cars allowed, and indeed people aren’t allowed into large parts of the reserve, with just occasional paths off to the side to explore on foot. Cycling heaven. Acaya, inland and on the ‘percorso turistico’ was a highlight, designed as a model village. Had I been fitter, I’d have just followed the tourist route all day, but I still saw plenty and was untroubled by cars, before riding the more prosaic streets of Lecce to return the bike.
Results from Salento parkrun #176,25/3/23; 27 finishers.